Lower back pain that limits your sport
Back pain that flares with a swing, a stride or a lift, and keeps returning once you go back to playing. Assessed and treated so you can keep doing the thing, not stop doing it.
The kind of back pain this helps
Any of these sound familiar?
- Pain that flares with a specific movement, a tennis serve, a golf swing, a deadlift, the first kilometre of a run
- A back that seizes after sitting, in the car or at a desk, and takes a while to loosen
- Pain that settles with rest and returns the moment you go back to your sport
- An old episode that keeps coming back every few months
Plenty of my clients are in their forties, fifties and beyond and have no intention of giving up what they play. That is the point: the goal is to get you back to it!
Why it keeps coming back
Recurring back pain is usually not a back problem in isolation. The lumbar spine sits between the hips and the ribcage, and if either of those is not doing its share, the back takes the extra load.
Two patterns come up constantly. Hips that have lost rotation, so a golf or tennis swing gets the rotation from the lower back instead. And a stiff mid-back, so the same thing happens from above. In both cases the back is the place that hurts, but it is not the place that is failing.
What the assessment looks like
A first appointment is history plus a physical screen. History matters more here than people expect: what you play, how often, when it started, whether anything about it is getting worse. These all impact the treatment plan.
The physical side usually covers:
- Hip range of movement, especially rotation
- Mid-back rotation and extension
- How you hinge, squat and rotate under your own bodyweight
- Which tissue is actually tender, and whether pressing it reproduces your pain
What treatment involves
Hands-on work to settle the irritated tissue, using soft tissue and range of motion techniques and cupping where it is the right tool, then loading. The manual work buys you a window where movement is easier; the exercise is what makes the change stick.
The programme is usually built around the thing you want to get back to. If the problem shows up in a golf swing, the exercises work towards rotating under load. If it shows up running, they work towards tolerating repeated impact.
How long it takes
Acute flare-ups often calm down noticeably within two or three sessions. Building the capacity so it does not recur takes longer, typically six to eight weeks of consistent work, most of which you do on your own between appointments.
When you need a doctor or imaging first
Most lower back pain does not need a scan, and imaging early often finds age-related changes that are present in people with no pain at all. But some things need medical assessment before hands-on treatment. See a physician promptly if you have:
- Numbness around the groin or saddle area, or any change in bladder or bowel control
- Progressive weakness in a leg, or a foot that catches when you walk
- Back pain with unexplained weight loss, fever, or a history of cancer
- Back pain following a significant fall or collision
If anything in the assessment points that way, I will tell you and refer rather than treat.
Booking for lower back pain
Athletic Therapy is usually the better starting point here, because the assessment and the return-to-sport plan are the main event. Massage Therapy suits you if the picture is mostly muscular and you want the hands-on work to lead. Rates are identical, so pick either and it gets sorted in the first appointment, or message me and describe it first.
Full rates are on the services and pricing page.